AntiHoward
by JantoFan
Summary: When Howard wont let Vince throw a party, he goes to extreme lengths to get him to change his mind. But can Vince cope with the changes in his friend? And can the changes ever be undone? Now Complete!
1. Vince's Plan

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, i do not own the Boosh. It belongs to Julian Barratt and the very sexy Mr Noel Fielding :p**

* * *

"Howard?"

"What is it Little Man?" Howard glanced up from his copy of Global Explorer to see Vince watching him, eagerly.

"You know how it's Naboo's birthday soon?"

Howard knew nothing of the sort, he had no idea when the tiny shaman's birthday was, but there was no way he was going to admit that to Vince. Men-of-action like himself knew everything. So he nodded wisely. "What about it?"

"I was thinking, right, why don't we throw him a party! It'd be genius!"

Howard frowned. "Right, and would this be Naboo's party or yours?"

Vince looked at him with wide-eyed innocence. "What do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean Little Man. I'm talking about my birthday party, aren't I? Remember? The only people there who knew who I was were Lester Corncrake and that old lady who likes to yell at pigeons down by Tesco."

"As if! She didn't know who you were; she didn't even know where she was! She just followed a pigeon into our flat!"

"Well, that actually proves my point even more Vince. That wasn't really my party, was it?"

"Yeah, but that's coz no-one knows you. Naboo's genius, he's got loads of mates. It'll be fine!" he smiled winningly at Howard, and the jazz maverick felt himself soften in spite of himself. Then he remembered his party again.

"No. no way. No parties."

Vince pouted and stomped into his bedroom.

"And the old woman did know who I was!" he heard Howard call after him as he shut the door.

So, boring old Howard didn't want a party then? Ok, maybe he had been right about it being Vince's party, but all parties were Vince's really, weren't they? As soon as he got there he just outshone everyone else, it wasn't his fault!

He was just going to have to get Howard to change his mind. Or find something to change it for him. Grinning wickedly, Vince crept down the hallway to Naboo's bedroom. The shaman had to have something to get Howard to change his mind, right?

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**PLEASE REVIEW!! No flames please! Should i continue this, or leave it alone? **


	2. Potion

**This chapter is dedicated to those lovely people who have reviewed so far :D**

* * *

Vince looked over the various bottles and jars that lined the shelves of Naboo's room. There were so many! All in a variety of colourful bottles. Vince loved Naboo's room; he couldn't imagine why Naboo never let him in there alone. Vince began picking up bottles at random and reading the labels.

"Baldness, nope…teeth lengthening, no…hair thickening, no…" he thought about it, then pocketed the hair thickening potion for later. He reached to pick up another bottle and accidentally sent the jar next to it crashing to the floor, spilling blue powder everywhere. "Oops. Maybe that's why Naboolio doesn't let me in here!" he said to himself. "Ah well." He turned his attention back to the bottle in his hand.

"PRESTO-CHANGO!" the label declared. "Are you tired of people disagreeing with you? Do they think the opposite of how you think? Then feed them presto-chango! The only…"

Vince frowned and turned the bottle over in his hand. Half the label was definitely missing. "Who cares!" he exclaimed, looking at the tiny bottle. "This stuff sounds perfect, totally genius! If I can get Howard to drink this, he'll let me throw a party!"

Vince happily left the room and headed quietly back to his own. He had only been in there for about 3 minutes when someone knocked on the door.

"Vince?" it was Howard. "Vince, come on, open the door."

Vince got up and opened the door, pouting at Howard.

"Look, I'm sorry Little Man. I know you love parties. Maybe you could throw one for your own birthday though, yeah?"

"Ok. That's alright Howard; I don't need a party anyway."

Howard blinked in shock. He had expected Vince to sulk for ages, which was his usual method when he didn't get his own way.

"Do you want a cup of tea, Howard?"

"Umm…yeah. Sure." Howard went back to the sofa, still confused as to why Vince was so cheery. He frowned suspiciously into the kitchen.

"You're not going to put anything in my tea, are you? Like that time you put salt and mustard into my coffee because I wouldn't buy you a new pogo stick?"

"Relax, Howard!" Vince assured him, grinning. "I'm not gonna spike your tea with salt!" apparently satisfied, Howard picked up his magazine again. Vince breathed a sigh of relief. Pulling the stopper out of the bottle, he emptied it into Howard's mug. "Party time!" he muttered to himself happily.

"What?"

"Nothing." He handed Howard the mug and watched anxiously as he took a sip. He hoped the potion didn't taste of anything, else Howard would know what he'd done…

"Thanks Vince." Howard said, settling back to watch the telly. Vince grinned and took a sip of his hot chocolate, gazing out the window. He looked at his watch and realised the 'Cheekbone' ninja was over 2 minutes late with his latest edition. He would have to complain again, what if a new style had come in and he didn't know about it? Nightmare!

* * *

"Howard?" Vince said an hour later after finishing his 'Cheekbone' (the ninja had shown up three minutes late, but he didn't mind coz they had given him a free 'Goth Juice' hairspray to apologise.)

Howard glanced up at him briefly and looked back at the television.

"Howard? Howard? HowardHowardHoward…"

"What is it Vince?" Howard looked up at him sharply. Vince blinked. How come Howard hadn't used his nickname?

"Are you sure we can't throw Naboo a party? It'd be genius, all those shaman people, and girls Howard! Imagine that!"

Howard stared at him. For a moment Vince thought he might yell at him for bothering him again. But then the next second, a most un-Howard like grin came over his face.

"Yeah! A party! That would be amazing! When?"

Vince grinned. The potion had worked! "Let's throw it tomorrow!" He decided.

"Really? When's Naboo's birthday?"

"Oh I don't know. Soon. Sometime in the next 12 months anyway." Vince told him. "I'd better make flyers to stick up around town!" he got up and bounced excitedly into his room to get his felt tips. Howard shook his head at this boyish display of excitement. Then he frowned. Tomorrow! That wasn't very long to plan. He would have to decide on his outfit now. Standing up, he went into his room and opened the cupboard.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Vince stared critically at the flyer he had just made. It read 'PARTY!! AT VINCE NOIR'S FLAT! MEET VINCE NOIR, ROCK AND ROLL STAR!' followed by lots of drawings of girls and unicorns and glitter. And then in small letters at the bottom of the page he'd written 'in honour of Naboo's birthday.'

It was pretty good, he decided happily. Then he heard a shout.

"Vince!" that was Howard! "Vince!!"

"Howard! Are you alright!" Vince got up and ran into his friend's room, his face a picture of concern. The expression turned to confusion as he entered the jazz maverick's room and saw the scene in front of him. Howard had emptied out his wardrobe and was picking up things from the floor and throwing them away from his in disgust. "Howard?"

Howard turned and stared at him. "Vince! I've got nothing to wear to the party! What will I do?" Vince frowned at the heap of clothes in front of him.

"What about your beige slacks and your 'understated' brown flowery shirt? Don't you always wear those to parties?"

Howard looked at him in horror. "Are you mad?? I can't wear those, they're horrible! We need to go shopping. Topshop."

Vince grinned at Howard. _Christ, _he thought, _that potion was better than I thought. It's actually given Howard good taste!_

* * *

It was late in the afternoon when the two friends got back from the shops, laden down with bags. To Vince's surprise he hadn't had to tell Howard what to buy at all, he'd actually bought some pretty cool stuff! He'd bought a lot of stuff Vince hadn't seen, either, because he'd got bored and gone off to find somewhere to buy a Kit-Kat. Imagine that! Vince getting bored of shopping before Howard. He never thought it would happen in a million years. Vince suddenly noticed that the answering machine light was flashing a new message. He pressed the button and Naboo's monotone voice filled the flat. "Howard you ball-bag, why are you letting Vince throw a party? It's not even my birthday for another seven months! Anyway, I'm not going to be around for a few days, me and Bollo have got to go and sort out some shaman business. If the flat gets trashed while I'm gone, you can clean it up. Oh, and Vince? Save me some hash brownies would you? And DON'T touch my stuff!"

"Whatever." Howard said, deleting the message. Vince grinned. This party was going to be the best ever! (Until he threw another one that is.)

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**Second chapter in one day! yay! reviews are loved as always :)**


	3. Fun and Confusion

**Once again dedicated to you fabulous people who review! Hope you like it!**

* * *

Vince gazed at himself in the mirror, grinning broadly. He was wearing the purple feathery jacket and tight black jeans he'd bought the day before, and he thought he looked totally brilliant. _But then, I always look amazing. _Vince thought. _I could be wearing a bin bag and I'd look amazing. I could even wear Howard's clothes and still look gorgeous! _Not that he ever would of course that would be stupid, Howard's clothes were horrible. Although he wouldn't mind wearing some of the clothes he'd bought yesterday… he shook his head slightly as the doorbell rang. The first party guests! Vince continued staring into the mirror, entranced by his own reflection. He would give it another half an hour, wait for everyone to turn up, and then make his entrance. Yeah, that would be genius!

He frowned as the doorbell rang again. Why wasn't Howard getting the door? It rang a third time and Vince sighed. If he didn't answer it then whoever it was might go away! And he knew some very hot Goth girls were going to be there, what if it was them? As he left his room he glanced down the corridor towards Howard's bedroom. The door was firmly closed. Vince silently cursed his friend for not being ready yet. He, Vince Noir, was going to have to be on time for his own party! How embarrassing was that?!

* * *

Half an hour later, the party was already in full swing. "You alright, how's it going?" Vince grinned at the girls in front of him. They weren't the Goth girls he'd wanted to see, but one of them was seriously hot. She seemed quite distracted by her (uglier) friend though, and Vince wondered how he was going to get her alone. _Maybe I'll introduce the friend to Howard…_ he thought. Vince glanced around the room, looking for Howard. He had no idea how long the potion would last, and he didn't want it wearing off during the party, in case Howard tried to make another embarrassing speech like he had at his birthday. He frowned slightly when he realised he couldn't see the jazz maverick. "Excuse me, girls, I'll be right back. I want you to meet my friend Howard…" he set off through the crowd towards Howard's bedroom. He knocked on the door. _Maybe the potion wore off and he's hiding? _Yeah, that seemed likely. Still, he should come out of his room. How was Vince supposed to get off with that girl if Howard wasn't there to entertain her friend? Vince pushed the door open and stepped inside. "Howard?"

"What is it Vince? I'm nearly ready."

Vince looked in surprise at his friend's back. Howard was wearing tight fitting jeans and a red jacket. Vince loved them. _Howard's arse looks great in those…_he thought, before mentally shaking himself. Where had that come from? He wasn't supposed to look at Howard's bum, not when there were so many hot girls around. That was just _wrong_.

"What's taking so long, all you need to do is…" Vince stopped talking when Howard turned around, gaping in shock. "What have you done?" He asked eyes wide.

"I had a shave, what does it look like?" Howard's moustache had gone. Vince considered his friend's face. It looked strangely empty without it. Vince had to admit Howard looked more handsome, the lack of a huge moustache definitely made his eyes look bigger. Then he realised that Howard's eyes also looked bigger because…

"Are you wearing _makeup_?" He exclaimed. "And what have you done to your hair? Is that my root-boost?"

"Just a bit." Howard looked slightly embarrassed. "I hope you don't mind, I didn't have any of my own, and my hair definitely needed it."

"Yeah…" Howard did look great, but Vince secretly thought he had looked better before. He just didn't look like Howard anymore, he looked different...

"Come on, Little Man. We've got a party to go to!" Howard announced, grinning broadly.

"Yeah!" Vince perked up instantly. Parties always made him feel good. "Come on, I met some girls! Two of them, two of us, it'll be genius! One of them says she really likes you!"

"Really?"

"Well, not actually coz she doesn't know who you are, but she definitely seemed interested when I said I had a friend." Vince thought for a moment. Even with Howard he knew it was going to be hard getting the girl he wanted. He'd been in this situation before, both girls would fancy him, and neither would fancy Howard. Still, there was always a chance the other girl was blind, or liked jazz wasn't there?

"Come on then!" Howard said, grinning, and skipped out of the room.

* * *

Vince watched Howard dancing with a huge grin on his face. That potion of Naboo's was the best! Vince loved 'new-Howard', as he had taken to calling his friend. Not that he didn't love old-Howard of course, but it was nice to be able to be somewhere with him without worrying he might do something embarrassing…Vince shook his head, suddenly annoyed at himself. _What's wrong with you? Since when were you ashamed to be seen with Howard?_ He felt a little guilty suddenly. He remembered how he used to hero worship Howard, back at the zoo (Even if he'd never actually shown it.) He'd left school for the man! Just accepted that GCSEs weren't important, because Howard had told him so. When had he begun to view their friendship as a burden? It wasn't a burden…

He was snapped out of his thoughts by Howard flinging his arms around his neck. "It'sh Vinsh!" Howard slurred. Vince grinned in spite of himself. Howard had been knocking back the Alco pops like they were water, and was now completely pissed. "I love you, Vinsh." Howard told him.

"Yeah mate, I love you too." Vince said shaking his head. He glanced at the clock and saw that it was nearly 5 in the morning. It was still a bit early to end the part, Vince thought, but he did have a lot of cleaning up to do if they wanted to have the flat nice for Naboo. Sighing, Vince turned off the music, and everyone groaned and turned to look at him in annoyance. "Sorry guys, you've all been genius hope you had a great time, but we need to end now before Naboo gets back and turns you into Buffalo wings, or something."

It took a good ten minutes for everyone to leave. When they had gone, Vince looked around the flat. It was a complete tip! Vince grinned. In his mind, the sign of a good party was that by the end everything was at least three times as messy as when you began. And this was clearly a great party!

"Hey Howard, come on, you should go to bed. You are going to have such a hangover tomorrow. What were you thinking, you don't even drink!" Vince couldn't help smiling. "Come on, you great Northern pillock" he said, lifting Howard and supporting his weight. He led Howard down the hall towards his bedroom, pausing briefly outside the bathroom. "You're not gonna be sick, are you?" he asked. Howard shook his head and the movement caused him to fall over slightly, knocking Vince against the wall. "Oi, do you mind?" Vince said, mock-crossly.

"Hey, Vinsh? Why don't we go into Naboo's room, yeah? He's gotta have something to make me not drunk?" Howard giggled.

Much as the idea of going through Naboo's potions appealed to him, Vince felt sure he was going to be in enough trouble for taking the 'presto-chango'. It was a nice idea though. Drunk Howard was fun! He glanced up at Howard's face, and suddenly became aware of the proximity between the two. He swallowed loudly, his eyes glancing automatically towards Howard's exposed lips. All the laughter had died from his friends face and he was looking at Vince with the strangest expression on his face. "Howard, what're you…" he was cut off as he felt soft lips press against his own. He froze for a few seconds, before Howard broke the kiss. He smiled drunkenly at Vince, seemingly unaware of his friend's shock.

"Night, Vinshy Vinshy." He said, patting Vince on the cheek and stumbling into his room, shutting the door behind him. Vince stayed slumped against the wall for ages, wondering why his heart was still beating faster, and why he could still feel soft lips on his own and Howard's weight upon him, long after they were taken away.


	4. Feelings

Vince woke up with a groan. He felt terrible, as if someone had crept into his room with a mallet and clubbed him several times in the head with it. His only consolation was that he felt sure Howard would feel worse. He glanced at his clock and saw that it was nearly 1pm. Naboo was going to kill them for not opening the shop, but Vince was finding it very hard to care. Wrapping his duvet around him, he shuffled out into the kitchen, where Howard was already sat at the table, completely still.

"Howard? You alright?" Vince asked.

"Shh. If I don't move, the porcupine in my brain might stop moving and fall asleep."

"You really shouldn't drink so much Howard." Vince grinned, and then winced as this small change in facial expression caused his headache to flair up again suddenly. Howard must have noticed this, because the next second a packet of paracetamol and some water were thrust under Vince's nose.

"Thanks, Howard." Vince said, popping a couple of pills from the wrapper. He glared down at them. "I hate tablets! They should invent a drink with the paracetamol already dissolved in it. That would be genius!"

"Yeah, they could call it suicide juice. It would be a worldwide hit." Howard said grinning. Vince looked at him properly, and then wished he hadn't when his stomach gave a funny little jolt. Howard still had last night's makeup all over his face, and Vince thought he looked quite cute.

"What was that about last night?" he blurted out. Howard frowned at him.

"What? I have no idea, can't remember a thing. Why, what happened?"

To his surprise, Vince felt a prickling of disappointment that Howard didn't remember the kiss. He quickly shoved those thoughts to the back of his mind. "Nothing. I don't remember. Nope. Not a thing. Anyway…I have to get dressed." He got up and shuffled quickly back into the bedroom, leaning against the door. A part of him felt sorry that Howard hadn't remembered the kiss, and Vince wasn't sure how he felt about that at all. To take his mind off those thoughts, Vince got to thinking about Naboo. When would he be back? He hadn't actually said in the message. Vince hoped the potion would have worn off by then, so Naboo wouldn't have to know he had taken it in the first place. Maybe it had worn off already? _Nah _Vince thought. _If it had worn off he would have been freaking out about his moustache by now. _

* * *

An hour later (after Vince was dressed and had got his hair and makeup perfect) Vince emerged from the bedroom and grinned down at Howard. "Hey Howard! Let's do something!"

"What?"

"I dunno. Something fun."

"Shouldn't we open up the shop?"

Vince considered this. True, it was nearly 2:15pm, but the shop was technically supposed to be open until 6…he sighed. "Yeah, you're right. Don't wanna give Naboo any more reasons to turn his back on me…"

"What was the first reason?"

"Nothing!" said Vince, a little too quickly. There was a pause.

"Well, you'd better go open up. I need to fix my clothes and hair!" Howard announced, jumping up off the sofa and hurrying into the bathroom.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Half an hour later, Howard still wasn't down and Vince was beginning to get bored. They hadn't had a single customer. What they had had, much to Vince's surprise, was several girls coming in asking after Howard. Including (much to Vince's annoyance) the hot girl from the party. He cheered himself up by telling them Howard had emigrated to Peru. Or at least, that's why he told himself he did it. It wasn't coz he was jealous or anything, that would be stupid…

The next second, Howard walked through the doorway talking on his phone.

"…yeah, so I'll see you at the gig later Leroy. Ok…yeah. Yeah, laters mate." He hung up.

"What gig?" Vince asked instantly.

"Oh, well, Leroy's mate has got a gig in this club…"

"How come I wasn't invited?"

Howard looked a bit awkward. "Oh, well, you know. Limited tickets available, he couldn't ask everyone. I'd take you with me if I could Vince…"

"Yeah, yeah." Vince glared moodily out the window, struggling to hold back tears. For the first time since it had happened Vince wished the potion would wear off and Howard would be back to normal. How could Howard do this to him? Just abandon him and go off with other people? They were supposed to be a team… _didn't matter when you were the one getting the invites though, did it?_ A little voice said at the back of his brain. Was this how Howard felt?

"Anyone call for me?" Howard asked.

"What? Oh…no." Vince took a strange sort of savage pleasure in the disappointed look on his friend's face.

"Oh. I was expecting Jessie to show up. You know, that girl you introduced me to at the party."

"She emigrated. To Peru." _What is wrong with you? Stop telling people that!_

"Right. That's a shame." Vince couldn't believe it, Howard was buying this! Vince stood up quickly, planning to go and look in the mirror, and accidentally sent half of stationary village flying.

"Oh my God! I'm sorry Howard!" Vince cried, bending down to pick them up.

"It's ok Vince, just leave it. It's just pencils and things."

"But you love stationary village! It's like your second home!"

Howard sighed impatiently, watching Vince grabbing things off the floor. A pen rolled over next to his foot and he bent down to pick it up at the same time that Vince made to grab it, meaning he accidentally grabbed Howard's hand instead. Both men looked up quickly at each other, the atmosphere in the shop suddenly becoming incredibly tense. Vince rubbed his thumb over the back of Howard's hand, and Howard turned his hand over, entwining his fingers with Vince's. Vince swallowed, his eyes flicking down to their hands, then back up to Howard's face. He couldn't understand why just holding Howard's hand was doing strange things to his stomach. It felt as though he had eaten a kitten or a butterfly of something. The bell above the shop door tinkled, and both men leapt apart as though they'd been burnt, flushing furiously.

* * *

Vince tried not to speak to Howard again for the rest of the day. He didn't know what he'd say. Not that Howard tried to engage him in conversation much; he spent the rest of the afternoon reading a magazine and looking in the mirror. Vince found this rather annoying. At 9 that night, Howard came into the main area of the flat to where Vince was sitting on the sofa reading Cheekbone.

"Right, I'm off to the gig. See you later."

"Yeah." Vince meant to just glance at Howard, but when he saw him he couldn't take his eyes off him. He looked _good. _He had used root-boost in his hair again, and was wearing tight fitting black jeans with genius red cowboy boots, and a black shirt, open just enough to be sexy without flashing nipples at people. "Wow. I mean…um…" he felt himself blushing. "I'll see you later." He said, burying his head in his magazine again, trying desperately to try and think of Tony Harrison, or Lester Corncrake, or _anything_ that might calm him down and make him feel a bit less…flustered.

After Howard had gone, Vince put down the magazine and thought about what was going on. He hadn't thought the potion would last this long…

"Alright, Vince?"

He spun around in delight. "Naboo! You're back! I thought you were doing shaman business?"

the shaman was looking suspiciously tanned, and was wearing a sombrero. "Well, I said it would only be a couple of days." He eyed the flat suspiciously. "I see Howard didn't bother tidying up then. Did you save me brownies?"

"Naboo, listen, it's about Howard. Um…" he was interrupted by the door slamming again.

"Only me! I forgot my wallet!" Howard came bouncing into the room, grinning when he saw Naboo and Bollo. "Alright Naboolio? How was the shaman stuff? Sorry I can't stay long, I'll see you later. Love the sombrero by the way, that is just _genius_!" with a grin that seemed to be made of sunshine, Howard bounced out of the flat again, humming Gary Numan's _cars_ to himself. Naboo and Bollo stood, frozen, staring in shock at the door. After a few minutes, Vince began to get uncomfortable and thought he might escape to his room. When he moved however, Naboo spun round to face him.

"Vince…" he began slowly. "…What the hell have you done to Howard?"


	5. Explanations

"Nothing!" Vince protested. Naboo stared at him with his hands on his hips. "Ok, I might have given him a _tiny_ potion."

"Which one?"

"Err…presto-chango?"

"Did you go in my room?"

"Well…"

"What have I told you? What part of 'don't touch my stuff' cant you understand?"

"I was just…"

Naboo glared at him. "I'd turn my back on you but there isn't time. Bollo, note it down in the diary for later, yeah? Right now we need to find Howard and change him back"

"So you can change him back then?" Vince looked relieved.

"I don't know. Bollo, get Howard back here would you? Vince, where's the rest of the potion?"

Vince began to feel uneasy again. "Rest of the potion?"

"Yeah. You did follow the dosage sizes, yeah?"

"Well..."

Naboo's eyes widened. "Vince, tell me you didn't feed Howard the entire bottle?"

"I didn't feed him the entire bottle."

"So how much did you give him?"

"Umm…"

"Didn't you read the label? It said quite clearly to only use a few drops!"

"I did read it! The half that was still stuck to the bottle said nothing about dosages! And anyway, it was only a _small _bottle."

"Sometimes Vince almost as dumb as Howard." Bollo put in. Naboo frowned at him.

"You're not helping Bollo." He turned back to Vince. "Honestly, Vince, you're almost as stupid as Howard sometimes. What were you thinking?"

"I wanted a party! I didn't know anything like this was going to happen, did I?"

"Vince, when have you or Howard ever stolen one of my spells and something bad _not _happen?"

Vince opened his mouth to answer, and then closed it again.

"Exactly. It's never happened, which is why you should NEVER TOUCH MY STUFF."

"So…what exactly is happening to Howard?"

"I'm not sure exactly. We need to find the missing half of the label. Come on!" Naboo walked into his room, closely followed by Vince. Vince began rummaging through the bottles, looking for the torn off label. He suddenly noticed the jar of blue powder he'd spilt earlier. Guiltily, he swept it all under a nearby rug and dusted his hands off on his shirt. Luckily, it didn't seem to stain.

"Got it!" Naboo called triumphantly, waving a piece of paper in the air. He read it, and his smile rapidly vanished. "Oh."

"What? What is it?" Naboo passed him the label, and he read it. "'…potion on the market that can change people into thinking exactly like you! Always get your own way! Win every argument! DIRECTIONS FOR USE: give 2-3 drops and then enjoy the changes! Effect should last anything up to 12 hours. WARNING: the more potion drunk, the stronger the effects. If you are unsure about uses, consult your nearest shaman's council. WARNING: Not suitable for animal consumption. Although it can be quite funny'. So?"

"You've had his personality altered. Presto-Chango changes the recipient of the potion into acting like the person who gave it to them."

"So…what, you're saying he's acting like me?"

"Yeah."

"But he's not acting like me! He's acting horrible, he barely speaks to me, he spends all the time looking in mirrors, cares more about his hair than about my feelings…"

He trailed off when he saw the look that passed between Naboo and Bollo. "What?"

"Umm…well, that isn't exactly that different to how you act towards Howard…"

Vince blinked at him. Did he really act like that? He thought back over all the time he'd known the jazz maverick, remembering the way they used to be together back at the zoo compared to now. When had he become such a man-bitch? Back at the zoo he would have died before he advertised Howard as a prostitute, or abandoned him for a shiny cape, or any of the other horrible things he'd done lately. The worst he'd done back then was teasing him about his dress sense and his jazz (and, too be fair he still did that. Well they were pretty bad).

"Do I really act like that?" he asked Naboo. The tiny shaman nodded. "I do care about Howard! I know I do, I just don't know why I act this way towards him."

Naboo sighed impatiently. "Vince, isn't it obvious?"

"What?"

They were interrupted by Howard coming back, slamming the door after him as he came in.

"This had better be good, Naboo. I was in the middle of a meeting."

"A meeting? What're you on about? I thought you were at a gig?"

"Yeah, but I met some people. Guess what! They want me to be in their band! How genius is that?!"

Vince looked at him, confused. "But…**we're** in a band. What about me?"

"Well, we don't exactly follow the same wavelength anymore, do we Vince? You're holding me back. I can't deny my dream just to keep you happy."

Vince stared at Howard, "I'm…holding you back?" he whispered quietly, feeling extremely hurt. He to look at Naboo. "That's not like me! I don't think he's holding me back!" he protested.

Naboo frowned at Vince, then at Howard. "No, you don't. I mean, he **is**, but still…"

"What're you on about, you tiny blue pixie? How could I be holding Vince back?"

"Shut up, Howard." He looked down at the torn label in his hand. "I think you overdosed him, Vince. He's becoming like an extreme version of you. Or at least an extreme version of how you act towards things."

"So this is my fault?!"

"You did give him the potion. Howard could be fluffy kitten man and it would still be your fault."

"Never mind that. How do we change him back?"

"What do you mean, 'change me back'? Back to what?"

"There is only one thing you can do."

"Ok, what?"

"You need to get into Howard's mind and find his original personality."

"Whoa. Hold on, this isn't going to be like when he had to get the jazz cell out of me, is it? Coz there's no way I'm going into his blood, it'll be all jazzy and 'orrible! I'll get sick!"

"No, you just need to go in mentally. Your body won't leave the flat. Vince, unless we restore Howard's original persona soon, we'll lose him forever."

"Not really a bad thing." Mumbled Bollo.

"What're you all on about?" interrupted Howard suddenly. "Lose me forever? I'm right here." He sighed. "Look, Vince, I know your upset about the band, but I did always say this shop was too small for me. We can't all be musical geniuses."

"You're not a musical genius! You like jazz! No-one who likes jazz is good at music!"

Howard opened his mouth to respond, but instead yawned and lay down on the sofa, fast asleep. Vince looked over at Naboo, who was tucking a small spell book into his robes.

"What did you do to him?"

"Just a spell I got from the Tooth-fairy. Puts him into a sleep-like trance."

"As if, there isn't a tooth fairy! That's just your mum sneaking into your room at night with a Euro!"

Naboo looked at him, pityingly. "Vince, aren't you a bit old to believe that?"

"But…"

"Come on, we need to get you ready. You're going on a journey into the deepest part of Howard's mind..."

"...So you'll be gone about five minutes." Bollo grunted.

**

* * *

**

Finally managed to get this up! (Sorry if this isn't as good as the other chapters or the characters don't quite ring true. I've had a lot of writers block with this chapter, and add to that vast amounts of exam revision and coursework and I'm not exactly at my writing best!) Hope you love it anyway, next chapter will be better I promise! Reviews loved x :)


	6. Howard's Mind

**Ok, have finally updated this fic (am taking a well deserved break from revision after my first exam.) hope you like it! Big hugs and love to everyone who has read and reviewed so far, you guys are great!**

* * *

Vince looked suspiciously at the glass of green liquid Naboo had handed him. "So what exactly is it I need to do?"

"Just drink that, take Howard's hands, and leave it up to me. Remember, Vince, the mind is a delicate object, so don't go messing around with his memories or anything." He paused. "Although, if you could plant a memory that he owes me 50 euros, that would be great. I'm a little short this month."

Vince raised his eyebrows, but decided not to touch that one. He didn't want to risk annoying the shaman when he needed his help.

"Right. Gotcha." He downed the liquid in one go and took hold of the Jazz Maverick's hands.

"Now, remember Vince. You need to go inside Howard, find the personality centre, and set it back to normal. Nothing else. I'll be monitoring you from here; I'll bring you out when you've done it."

"Right. Yeah." Vince began to feel strangely apprehensive. What if Howard kissing him had been the result of the potion? What if he looked in Howard's head and found he didn't even like him? Vince thought he'd rather not know…

Naboo began to chant in a language Vince didn't recognise, and he began to get a not unpleasant dizzy, heady feeling that he usually associated with alcohol. He had the disturbing feeling that he was looking at Howard, at the same time he was looking at himself looking at Howard. Like a strange sort of double vision. Then he blacked out.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

When he came to he saw that he was in a large white room, all neat and tidy with filing cabinets and things. It looked like the office his dad used to work in. Vince shook his head. He should have known Howard's head would be as boring and plain as the rest of him! Vince decided he definitely preferred it inside his own mind, full of colours.

"Can I help you, love?"

Vince looked round and noticed a receptionist behind a desk. She just looked like Howard in a skirt, only wearing Goth makeup. Which Vince found disturbingly hot.

_I should get Howard into a dress…_Vince shook himself, trying to clear that thought from his mind."Uh…yeah. Hi. I need to get to the…um…wherever you control personality?"

"Sorry, pet, that section's closed. Upgrades."

"Right…well, can I speak to the brain?"

"Certainly sir. If you just go through that door there, follow the signs for the Brain's office."

"Cheers." Vince gave the receptionist a cheeky smile and a wink, and walked through the door to find himself in a corridor.

Of course, he had no real intention of going to the brain if he could help it. If the potion had affected his brain, it might not let Vince fix things. He walked down the corridor, trying to find something which might tell him what room the 'personality controls' were. Vince really hoped it was that simple; that he could just flick a switch or something. There was something very _intimate _about wondering through someone else's mind, and Vince wasn't sure Howard would like him being there. He glanced up at the door to his right, and saw it was marked 'Memories'. He hesitated, remembering what Naboo had said about not messing about with Howard's head, but he couldn't resist. Mainly because he wanted to see himself through Howard's eyes, he had never got a third person perspective on his outfits before, but also a tiny part of him wanted to check if Naboo had been right; if he really did treat Howard as badly as he felt Howard had treated him.  
Vince pushed open the door and went inside, to find himself in a sort of library, full of television screens. Despite the fact that it was Howard's mind, the librarian looked disturbingly like Bob Fossil in a dress. Vince, feeling rather sick at this unwelcome sight (and wondering what the hell it was doing in Howard's head…), began to browse the shelves, looking at all the labels. He completely bypassed 'childhood', he knew enough about Leeds to last him a lifetime.

He amused himself for a little while watching old memories of them at the zoo. _My hair did look good back then, _Vince thought absently, running his fingers through the long, black tresses which he now had, _maybe I should dye it again…_

He started to look for something a little more recent, and found himself watching a memory from after he'd got Howard fired…

* * *

**"…_and then he just said 'I'll call you!' can you believe that?! I mean, we're supposed to be mates…"_**

**"_Aye, well, that's what you get for mixing with that sort, aint it?"_**

**"_That sort?"_**

_**The bin man Howard was talking to smirked at him. "Aye. Fashion victims, they're all the same. The second they think you're not helping their image, you're gone. Better off sticking to us, lad."**_

**"_It never used to be like that." Howard sighed. "Back when we used to work at the Zoo, it was great. Maybe it was a mistake moving in together afterwards; maybe it was too much for him. He clearly hates me now. Actually no, I don't even think it's that. He just doesn't care…"_**

* * *

Vince looked away, tears welling up in his eyes. "I do care!" he whispered, "I love you, why can't you see that…?" _Whoa! Where had that come from! Love? _He didn't love Howard; he'd only been having these strong feelings a few days! You don't fall in love in a few days! The only reason he thought he was falling for Howard was because Howard was acting like him. He couldn't possibly love boring old…

But was it just these past few days? He hadn't loved Howard back at the zoo he was certain of that, he'd seen Howard more as a role model; someone to be looked up to. His best friend. But since the zoo…? He remembered the pang he'd felt when he saw Howard had lost the moustache. How he'd wanted him to look like he had before…

Dwelling on his thoughts, Vince didn't really look where he was going, and nearly crashed into one of the many shelves.

This one was labelled 'Vince arguments'.

_I have a whole section? How bad am I exactly? _He pulled up one of the memories, and frowned. He had no idea when this had happened, he didn't remember it at all…

* * *

**"_But the thing is," Vince pointed drunkenly at Howard, "YOU were jusht jel…jeal…you didn't like me bein the chosen one!" Vince was clearly drunk out of his mind._**

**"_Well, you did make me wear a loincloth…"_**

_**Vince grinned at him. "You do have the legs for it."**_

_**Howard smiled, uncertain as to whether that was a complement or if Vince was taking the piss.**_

**"_And now I'm not a baby!" Vince laughed delightedly and tried to twirl, but ended up falling into Howard. "Oops. S...sorry."_**

**"_And I'm not a baby!" Howard joined in the drunken laughter. He was drunk, but clearly not as much as Vince._**

**"_I'm glad you're not a baby, Howard." Vince told him, poking him in the mouth with his finger. Then the look on his face changed, his eyes roving over Howard's face, lingering over his mouth._**

To Vince watching this, it couldn't have been plainer what he was thinking, what he wanted, but Howard being Howard…

**"_What?" Howard put a hand up to his moustache, seemingly thinking that was what Vince was staring at._**

_**Vince blinked and looked up sharply, as though he had only just realised it was Howard he was looking at. "You looked shtupid as a baby. You still had a moustache! Moustaches are shtupid."**_

**"_Thanks Vince."_**

** "_You're shtupid, coz you've got one. You're a jazzy moustache-y freak…"_**

* * *

Vince couldn't believe it. He had no memory of this, but it had seemingly happened after Naboo 'grew them up' after that incident on Xooberon. Had this, then, been the moment everything changed? Had he liked Howard since this point, was that why their friendship had changed?

_Yes_, he realised. He had acted out, so desperate to prove he didn't fancy Howard that he actually began to drive him away. And what was worse was that he hadn't even realised he was doing it; he had buried his feelings so deep even he wasn't aware of them any more. He felt a tear snake down his cheek. _I need to get out of here. I need to talk to Howard, my Howard…_ he stumbled out of the room, ignoring the grumbling librarian and set off down the corridor at a jog. He had to find the Personality centre; he had to get Howard back.

Suddenly, he saw it. A door slightly larger than all the others, with red tape across it to show you weren't allowed in. Howard's mind was clearly very organised.

Looking around, he hurried in and shut the door quietly behind him. He gave a small sigh of relief. The last thing he needed was for one of Howard's brain cells to try and stop him; Vince didn't want to damage more than he had to.

Vince looked at the console in front of him. It was huge, with a lot of buttons and brightly coloured flashing lights. Vince loved it. Who knew something so pretty would control Howard?

"Ok, how do I work this thing?" Vince was hopeless with technology. He couldn't even program the DVD recorder at the flat, how could he be expected to restore someone's personality?! Maybe he should just give up, maybe get Naboo to…but, no! Howard needed him. He gritted his teeth. How hard could this be?

An hour later of just looking at the lights flash, Vince was beginning to despair. If this was one of their wacky adventures, this would be the point Howard or some weird Bob Fossil look-alike would swan in and save the day. But this wasn't a wacky adventure, this was Howard, and Vince was on his own. "A little help would be nice though." he whispered. What if he couldn't do it? What if Howard stayed like this forever and it was all his fault? Vince didn't think he wanted to…

"_Vince what're you doing, you ball bag?"_

"Naboo?" he looked around, half expecting to see the tiny shaman standing next to him.

"_I'm not in there with you, like I'd ever go into Howard's head! But what's taking so long?"_

"I don't know what to do! There's this genius console, all bright and flashing. But I don't know how to work it!"

"_Cant you just guess?"_

"What about the mind being a 'delicate object'?"

"_Yeah, but it's only Howard isn't it?"_

"Oi!..."

"_Ok, ok, sorry. But this is Howard we're talking about, isn't there an instructions manual?"_

Vince looked around. Sure enough, there was a large green book, with 'Instructions' written on the cover. Up until then he'd been ignoring it. "Yeah but it's, like, 900 pages long! I can't read that, it's huge!"

"_Vince…"_

"Ok, ok, I'll read it." He started to flick through. "They should really put pictures in these things. It would make them a lot more interesting…" He realised he could no longer hear Naboo, and guessed the shaman had withdrawn from Howard's mind.

It took him a little over an hour to find the information he wanted. Nervously, he began pressing buttons and switches, watching as the lights flashed and changed colour, and a few of them went out. Vince hoped that was supposed to happen. He fiddled around with a few more buttons and levers, sighing in nervous relief when a voice told him 'system is reverting'.

"Halt, sir!"

He spun around, alarmed, to see what appeared to be an army of Howard's dressed in brightly coloured tweed suits. Howard's brain cells probably. _Even when he's being like me his brain still loves tweed…_ Vince thought. This cheered him up, the thought that some of Howard was still in there. It meant that he might have meant that kiss after all…

Then he realised that the brain cell army looked angry. One of them was pointing at the console and shouting, but it was too late to do anything. It began to beep and hum.

"Stop him! he destroyed the upgrade!"

But not all of the cells were listening any more. Some of them were shaking their heads, and a couple were looking down in horror at their outfits. Vince couldn't blame them, but he had the feeling they were objecting to the colour, rather than the tweed. At least, he hoped they were.

"Any time now, Naboolio!" Vince yelled. He felt the heady, dizzy feeling again, and blacked out.

**

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**

This chapter hasn't gone exactly how I planned, but I hope it's still good! Reviews are much loved :)


	7. Home Again

**Hmm, wasn't too sure about the last chapter, so hopefully this one makes up for it! **

**I'm really gonna miss this story now it's finished :) Enjoy!**

* * *

Vince blinked rapidly as his eyesight adjusted to the room around him. He was back. Looking up he saw Naboo and Bollo watching him intently.

"How was it?"

"It was crazy, Naboo! Howard's head's all weird and neat. It was like an office!"

"Bollo always said that Howard was…" Bollo began, but was silenced by a glare from Vince.

"Did it work?" asked Naboo.

"Yeah. Yeah I think so." Vince looked at Howard anxiously. Had it worked?

"Ok. I'd better wake him up from this trance then." Naboo waved a hand in front of Howard's face and muttered a few words. Howard blinked, turning his head to look at each of them in turn, confusion on his face. Vince felt his heart leap. This was almost definitely 'normal' Howard!

"What'm I…" then his eyes opened wide in shock as he remembered the past few days. He looked accusingly at Vince. "What the fuck did you do to me?"

"Howard, I'm really sorry…" he reached out to touch Howard's shoulder, but the Jazz Maverick shrugged him off angrily and stood up.

"Don't touch me, Vince. Don't ever touch me."

And although he'd said that a thousand times before, this time the words cut Vince like a knife. "Howard, please…"

"Don't even _talk _to me again!" Howard stalked out of the flat slamming the door behind him, leaving Vince staring, stricken, after him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"He didn't mean it you know."

Vince looked up as Naboo spoke. It was getting light now; Howard had been gone all night, and Vince had waited up for him. "Yes he did. He hates me."

"Vince…"

"He hates me, and it's all my fault! Why couldn't I just accept that he didn't want a party, why did I have to go and…and…I've ruined everything! And just when I…" he broke off. There was no need to burden Naboo with his new-found feelings towards his best friend. Especially since it now looked very unlikely Howard did, or would ever, return them.

"The effects of the potion were probably still wearing off, yeah? It changed everything about him. Made him say and do things he would never have done in a million years normally…"

Vince recognised that Naboo was trying to make him feel better, but the shaman seemed unaware that his every word was driving the knife deeper and deeper into Vince's heart. That kiss…

Just then he heard the front door slam. Howard was back! He jumped up and ran to the top of the stairs. "Howard?"

But Howard just swept past him, barely acknowledging the other man's existence.

* * *

"Hey Howard?"

Howard glanced up at Vince, and then returned to re-arranging stationary village. Vince bit his lip and sighed. It had been several days since Howard had been returned to normal, and he still hadn't spoken more than a few words to him. Vince was feeling terrible, he'd never gone this long without speaking to Howard before. He was just about to try speaking again when the shop door opened and Leroy walked in.

"Vincey!" he yelled in greeting. Vince grinned at him.

"Y'alright?" he said.

"Yeah, wicked. Listen, my mate Bazzer's got us tickets to the Plush Banana later, you in?"

"That sounds genius!"

Leroy glanced over at Howard and lowered his voice slightly. "But he only got a few, yeah? So you can't invite Howard."

Vince looked over at the jazz maverick, and saw he was already subconsciously moving into the corner, fully expecting Vince to just go off without him. It was pathetic really, Vince thought, how quickly all Howard's new 'friends' had vanished once he was back to being himself. They would probably do the same to him too, if he ever lost his edge…Vince sighed. "Sorry, Leroy, maybe another time, yeah? I have plans."

"Ok, no worries. I'll see you at my party on Saturday, yeah?"

"Yeah. See ya Leroy."

As soon as he'd gone, Vince locked the door ready to close up shop. By the time he turned around, Howard had already gone upstairs. Vince followed, and saw him slumped on the sofa. "Howard?" he didn't even acknowledge Vince was there. "Howard? Come on, at least talk to me, please! I just turned down a ticket to the best club in town to spend time with you!"

Howard snapped his head to face him, his face hard and cold. "What, so you turn down one of your many invites and I'm supposed to forgive everything? You spiked my drink with a potion when you didn't know what the hell it was! Anything could have happened to me!"

Vince took the chance and sat down next to him. To his relief, Howard didn't get up and walk away so Vince decided it was safe to keep talking. "Come on, Howard, it wasn't that bad was it?" he asked tentatively. "You were getting party invites, and you had girls all over you and everything! You did seem to be finding it fun!"

"Fun? Fun?! It was humiliating, sir! I was walking about acting like a complete prat for three days!"

"Oi! You were walking about acting like _me _for three days!"

"Yes, but you're a sunshine person Vince, you can get away with it. Me; I'm a man of substance. I'm Howard Moon; I have a simple charm…"

"As if! People liked you so much better when you were acting like me!"

"How dare you, sir?!" Howard got up and went into the bedroom, shutting the door behind him. Vince groaned.

"Howard! Howard, come on, I'm sorry!" he called, walking over to the room and pushing the door open. Howard was sitting on the edge of his bed looking angry.

"Do you mind?"

Vince ignored him and sat down next to him. "I can think of one person who didn't prefer you as a sunshine person."

"Oh yeah? And who's that?"

"Me."

Howard laughed bitterly. "Why? Did you feel like I was 'stealing your style', like Lance Dior?"

Vince was hurt. Was that all Howard thought of him? "No! I didn't like it because…because…because you weren't acting like Howard anymore! And I…I missed you. We've always been like two halves of a whole person you and me, y'know? Only, these past few days…it's been like we're the same half of two different people, and that just doesn't work so well…"

Howard stayed silent.

"Look, Howard, I know I've acted like a complete tosser towards you, and I'm really sorry. I don't know why I've been acting like this…" he did, but he wasn't going to tell Howard the reason, "I guess I never realised how much it hurt you until you did it to me…I'm really sorry Howard."

Howard looked at him, and Vince was relieved to see that a lot of the anger and resentment had faded from his eyes. "You're growing your moustache back." Vince said, raising a hand as if to touch Howard's upper lip. Howard stiffened, and Vince suddenly realised the intimacy of this gesture and let his hand drop back to his side. Glancing up, he saw a strange yet familiar expression cross Howard's face. Could it be…? "Naboo said the potion was changing everything about you…" Vince began slowly. Howard raised an eyebrow. "I guess that explains why you did some of the things you did."

"What, you mean the clothes and stuff?"

"No. When you were drunk…"

Howard looked worried. "Why? What did I do?"

"You…umm…you kissed me." Howard's eyes widened in shock. "But that must have been the potion, yeah? Because we're best mates, you don't feel that way about me?"

"No. No, of course not!" Howard protested. Vince watched his face closely. His eyes were darting nervously between the door and the small window, never looking at Vince. Was he lying? Or was he just nervous? _Shit, _thought Vince, _the bedroom was probably not the best place to try and have this conversation…_

"Because I wouldn't want things to be weird…"

"No! They won't be, because it was the potion wasn't it?" Howard caught his eye and gave a small smile. "Anyway Vince, I better go do some…stock taking…"

"Ok." Vince watched as Howard got up and walked towards the door. He took a deep breath. "Howard?"

Howard turned to look at him, his hand on the door-knob. Vince swallowed, stood up, and walked towards his friend. He knew that if he had read Howard wrong this was going to be really awkward and weird. But he also knew that if Howard walked out that door neither of them was ever going to mention this again, and he would never know either way. Reaching Howard, he cupped the other man's face in his hands, his gaze darting between Howard's eyes, and then allowed his gaze to flick down to his lips. And kissed him. For about five seconds Howard did nothing, and Vince began to panic that he had made a mistake, Howard didn't feel that way, he had just been nervous. He started to pull away. _Oh shit…  
_But then he felt the Maverick's arms rise up his back and pull him closer, his lips returning the pressure. He felt Howard's tongue gently probing his lips, and opened his mouth allowing him entry, his own tongue darting forwards, exploring the other man's mouth. He tasted like coffee and biscuits and _Howard_…suddenly the kiss changed, became deeper, hungrier. It wasn't the best kiss Vince had ever had, but then again Howard didn't exactly have experience in this field. And what he lacked in finesse he definitely made up for in enthusiasm. Howard's hands were everywhere; on his back, running down his face, in his hair…

The pair of them stumbled back towards the bed, tearing off each other's clothes as they went, collapsing onto it so Howard was pinning Vince under him. Vince could not quite believe this was happening …Howard pulled away suddenly and gazed down at him. "Are you sure this is what you want?" Vince whispered. In response, Howard pressed his lips passionately to Vince's, and the younger man moaned into his mouth, his skin growing hotter. Vince slipped a hand between them and took hold of Howard, grinning to himself as the other man hissed in ecstasy. "Oh God, Vince!"

Vince manoeuvred himself until he was on top of Howard, breathing hard with excitement and lust. He pulled away from Howard slightly, and the other man automatically tried to pull him back, missing the contact.

"I want you. So much." Vince whispered staring at Howard, his eyes dark with passion. The other man smiled, pulling him back towards him into another fierce kiss, making Vince moan in pleasure as he nibbled and sucked his bottom lip. Vince pulled back, and began to kiss and lick and bite his way down Howard's torso, teasing him, whilst the other man writhed and moaned in pleasure beneath him. Down, and down, until…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Wow." They lay there, bathed in sweat, just lying in each other's arms.

"Yeah." Vince picked up Howard's hand from where it was draped across his chest and entwined their fingers together, loving how they fitted together so perfectly, how right it felt. He brought the hand up to his lips and kissed it.

"What just happened little man?"

Vince frowned in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Well, it's just…I mean I wanted to, for so long, but I thought…you were always so… you always pushed me away. I thought you were bored of me or something."

Vince bit his lip, embarrassed. "I didn't want you to know how I felt." He admitted. "I didn't think you would feel the same."

He felt Howard place a kiss to his head. "How could I not?"

Vince smiled happily, kissing Howard's hand again. "You sure that was your first time?" he asked, twisting his head so he could gaze into Howard's eyes.

Howard frowned slightly. "Yeah, why?"

"Because that," he leaned up and kissed his new lover softly on the lips, "was amazing." He pulled back, grinning cheekily. "No virgin should be able to do things like _that _with their tongue."

"I told you Vince, I am a man of many talents."

"Yeah?" Vince rolled over and once again straddled the other man. He gazed down into his face, biting his lip seductively. "Wanna show me some more?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next morning, Vince woke up feeling totally happy and safe, Howard's arms wrapped tightly around him. He was reminded of back at the zoo, when he and Howard used to sleep next to each other on the floor of the hut in sleeping bags. Sometimes, when Vince had been afraid or upset, Howard would break his no touching rule and hug him, allowing Vince to fall asleep in his arms. Vince smiled. Maybe he'd been wrong; maybe he had loved Howard at the zoo after all.

He rolled over so he was facing the jazz maverick. "I love you." he whispered softly. He couldn't wait for the time he felt confident enough to say that to Howard when he was awake and could actually hear him. He pulled Howard closer, kissing him until he felt Howard stir and wake, the kiss being returned. "Morning." He said happily.

"Hmm." Howard didn't open his eyes. "Not morning yet. Still sleepy."

"That's probably coz you were up most of the night with me!"

Howard smiled, eyes still shut. Vince kissed him again and got out of bed, wandering over to the wardrobe to try and find something to wear. He grinned as he sifted through his wardrobe. His legs still felt like jelly, after all the things Howard had been doing to him…he squinted at the clothes in front of him. It would help if he had the light on, he couldn't see a bloody thing. But looking across at Howard, who had fallen back to sleep, Vince didn't want to risk waking him. He looked so gorgeous. He was just thinking that maybe he'd get back into bed after all, when Naboo's voice rang through the flat.

"VINCE!"

Howard jolted upright at once, rubbing his eyes blearily. "Naboo?"

"Howard, have you seen Vince?"

Howard scanned the room. "Nope, sorry Naboo. Is he in the kitchen?"

Vince flashed him a grateful smile. The last thing he wanted right now was Naboo turning his back on him. He was too happy for that.

Naboo suddenly burst into the room, flooding it with light. Howard cursed and brought a hand up to shield his eyes. Vince quickly took refuge behind the wardrobe door, suddenly very aware he wasn't actually wearing anything.

Naboo scanned the room, taking in the clothes strewn everywhere and the makeup smudges on Howard's face. His eyebrows raised a fraction. "Are you sure you haven't seen Vince, Howard?" he asked again, his voice layered with something that suggested he knew _exactly_ what had happened.

Howard flushed, embarrassed. "N-no. I said I hadn't, didn't I?"

Naboo remained unconvinced. "Yeah, well, if you do see him, get him to tell you what he did with my invisibility powder!"

Howard blinked at him. "You have invisibility powder?"

Vince couldn't really blame him for the note of unease in his voice. The idea that Naboo could be in the flat watching them when they weren't aware of it was very unnerving. Especially if they were going to be doing 'couple stuff' anywhere but within the privacy of their own bedroom.

"Yeah." Naboo grinned proudly. "I invented it myself. It's only a prototype though, so I really need it back. It's blue powder in a crystal jar. You seen it?"

"Nope, sorry Naboo."

_Blue powder…? _Vince swallowed and looked down at himself. Ah.

"Umm…Naboo? Naboolio?"

This was not going to go down well.

**

* * *

**

End! Hope you all liked it!

**I did consider writing out the sex scene in full, but I've never done smut before and didn't wanna risk ruining the story! Plus I didn't want to have to up the rating to 'M' just because of the last chapter ;)**

**Big thanks to: **

**Beechwood0708, **

**ButtonsMagoo, **

**stars of andromeda, **

**-Sassy-Saz-, **

**chugirl2526, **

**SparkieSteph, **

**violence4, **

**prepare4trouble, **

**x Thursday Next x, **

**northernbullet, **

**RSNatalie **

**And Captain-Jana-Sparrow**

**For their lovely reviews! You guys are the best!**

**Also thanks to everyone who read and added this to favourite stories and alerts, you guys are great!**

**Much love xx**


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